This invention is directed toward protective garments, and particularly toward protective gauntlets which may be worn when working with or handling corrosive chemicals, gases, impure liquids such as dirty water, or the like.
Protective gauntlets for use by workers to protect their hands are well known in the art. Particularly for workers in toxic and corrosive environments, such gauntlets may be a part of an overall protective suit which protects the entire user""s body. Gauntlets of that type are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,655,663 and 3,747,126, which include a stiffened frusto-conical insert behind the wrist portion of the glove member, where the stiffened portion is thrust through a lesser diameter opening in a sleeve of the garment for obtaining a tight seal between the sleeve and the gauntlet, while still leaving the ability to remove the gauntlet from the garment sleeve.
Of course, too tight of a connection can make it difficult to remove the gauntlet from the sleeve. Further, even the tightest of such a connection may cause the wearer some concern should they be in an environment where dangerous materials might be directed at pressure toward that connection from the area of the glove member. A wearer in such an environment may be concerned, for example, that the dangerous material may force its way under the end of the sleeve opening and work its way between the sleeve and the gauntlet into the interior of the gauntlet and protective suit.
In the prior art, such concerns have been addressed informally by the wearer by adding their own xe2x80x9csealxe2x80x9d, such as duct tape around the sleeve opening and the glove member. However, such xe2x80x9csealsxe2x80x9d appear to be what they arexe2x80x94xe2x80x9cmakeshiftxe2x80x9d additions to a garmentxe2x80x94and therefore do not necessarily inspire additional confidence to the wearer (who may believe, for example, that the tape is an insufficient repair to some hole covered thereby). Further, as such xe2x80x9csealsxe2x80x9d wear (e.g., from repeated bending during use) their worn appearance may additionally cause the wearer to lose confidence in the safety of the protection provided by the suit and/or gauntlet. Such lost confidence can cause a gauntlet to be unnecessarily discarded even though it is still perfectly suitable for safe use.
Beyond the confidence factor, the addition of a tape adhesive obviously interferes with the desired ability to remove the gauntlet from the sleeve. Further, such tape could conceivably itself be a factor in causing the flexible glove member to degrade in some way, whether through some kind of reaction with the adhesive or as a result of unplanned physical stresses on the glove member. For example, when the wearer bends his wrist inside the gauntlet, the bending point of the glove member will usually be different when stiff tape has been added which extends beyond the cuff assembly of the gauntlet as originally designed. This can not only cause the glove to be uncomfortable (e.g., by rubbing against the wearer""s hand or hand at places), but can also make the gauntlet more difficult to use due to the additional, undesirable and undesigned stiffness beyond the cuff assembly.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.
In one aspect of the present invention, a protective gauntlet is provided which is connectable to a sleeve of a protective garment to protect a wearer from environmental hazzards, including a protective flexible glove member including a cuff, a stiff cuff member disposed inside the cuff, the glove member cuff and the cuff member being securable in an end of the garment sleeve, and a collar having a small end and a large end. The collar small end is impermeably secured at one end about the glove member and the collar large end projects over at least a portion of the glove member cuff and the cuff member without connecting to the sleeve.
In one form, the collar large end extends beyond the end of the garment sleeve. In another form, the cuff member is substantially a truncated cone and, in yet another form, the collar is substantially a truncated cone.
In another aspect of the present invention, a garment for protecting a wearer from environmental hazzards is provided, including a protective flexible glove member including a cuff, a stiff cuff member disposed inside the cuff, a protective sleeve including an elastic end portion tightly disposed around the glove member cuff to define a stiff cuff assembly with the cuff member, and a collar having a small end and a large end. The collar small end is impermeably secured at one end about the glove member and the collar large end projects over the end of the sleeve elastic end portion without connecting to the sleeve.
Previously described forms of the first aspect of the present invention may also be used with this aspect of the invention.
In still another aspect of the present invention, a protective garment is provided including an impermeable flexible glove member including a wrist portion between a first cuff and a hand enclosing portion, a stiff cuff member disposed inside the first cuff, an impermeable sleeve including an elastic end portion tightly disposed around the first cuff to define a stiff cuff assembly, and a collar impermeably secured at one end about the glove member wrist portion. The other collar end projects over the end of the impermeable sleeve adjacent the glove member wrist portion without connecting to the impermeable sleeve.
In one form, the first cuff includes a lip at an end distal from the glove member, where the lip is adapted to abut an end of the stiff cuff member to retain the first cuff on the stiff cuff member. In another form, the collar is secured to the glove member wrist portion by PVC tape.